Jury says Apple iPhone violated three patents, damages unclear

Apple employees hang an iPhone 5 sign at one of the company's retail locations shortly before sales began in San Francisco, California, September 21, 2012.

Reuters/Noah Berger

(Reuters) - A U.S. jury on Thursday found that Apple's iPhone infringed three patents owned by holding company MobileMedia Ideas, though damages have not yet been determined.

The verdict was delivered after a week-long trial in Delaware federal court, said Larry Horn, chief executive of MobileMedia. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.

The three patents, which cover features like camera phone technology, were acquired from Nokia and Sony Corp in 2010, Horn said. Those two companies hold a minority interest in MobileMedia, he said.

Representatives for Nokia and Sony could not immediately be reached for comment.

The trial only concerned liability, and a damages proceeding has not yet been scheduled, Horn said. MobileMedia also has litigation pending against HTC Corp and Research in Motion Ltd.

"Our goal is really to license these patents broadly to the market," Horn said.

In court filings, Apple has asked a judge to rule that MobileMedia's patents are invalid as a matter of law, and that there is no "legally sufficient" basis to find MobileMedia has proven infringement.

The case in U.S. District Court, District of Delaware is MobileMedia Ideas LLC vs. Apple Inc, 10-258.